Now is the time for a professional regulator to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Posted on January 3, 2018

The CFPB needs a professional regulator to take over at the agency. Many can debate whether or not there should be a CFPB, but until such time as Congress passes legislation to abolish the agency, we need the best possible professional and modern agency.

The CFPB is supposed to be a 21st-century regulator. Instead, the agency became a political hammer, and many businesses in the financial services sector were nails. It was pulled to the left and criticized on the right. Companies and industries who wanted to help the CFPB to get it right were pilloried, and no one came out the winner.

With the opportunity to have a new CFPB director nominated and confirmed, it is my hope that all CFPB constituents can agree on a set of principles to guide the nomination and confirmation process.

Here is my list:

A professional regulator

Consumer-focused agenda

Focus on preservation of access to credit

Fairness in Supervision and Enforcement

Transparency in Supervision and Enforcement

Let us all find common ground on how to move forward with an effective CFPB.